Recommendations on the Governance of the
LHC Physics Center
The LPC Governance Committee
Lothar Bauerdick/Fermilab, Joel Butler/Fermilab, Maxwell Chertok/UC Davis, Sarah
Eno/U.Maryland, Dan Green/Fermilab, Joe Incandela/UC Santa Barbara, Boaz Klima/Fermilab,
Harvey Newman/Caltech, Paris Sphicas/CERN and U.Athens, Avi Yagil/UC San Diego
Introduction and Executive Summary
In January 2007, the LHC Physics Center (LPC) Governance Committee was convened
by the head of the recently formed Fermilab CMS Center, Lothar Bauerdick, and charged
by Fermilab Director Pier Oddone to advise on the appropriate structure and leadership
for the LPC. The ad-hoc committee had members representing the U.S. CMS
Collaboration Board, the U.S. CMS Research Program, the Fermilab CMS Center, the
CMS Physics Organization and CMS Executive Board, and members from the current
LPC organization including the current LPC leaders, the chair of the current LPC
Advisory Board and the leader of the LPC Physics Working Group. The group represents
a good cross section of the university-based and lab-based sectors of U.S. CMS.
The objective of the committee was to propose a revised structure for the governance of
the LPC. Goals were to provide transparency, ensure buy-in and ownership by all
collaborating institutions and by CMS, to enable full participation of U.S. university
groups in the LPC, and above all to help ensure that the LPC will be able to fulfill its
primary goal of helping U.S. CMS scientists at universities and labs to contribute to CMS
and to participate efficiently in CMS physics analysis.
The committee came to the following principal recommendations:
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The LPC should be led by two LPC Coordinators with staggered two-year terms.
•
U.S. CMS should form an LPC Coordinator Selection Committee to identify a short
ranked list of candidates that are nominated by the U.S. CMS Collaboration. The
committee should have members from U.S. CMS at large and also ex-officio
members, as described below. The Fermilab Director should appoint the LPC
Coordinators from among the candidates on the short list.
•
The LPC shall have a Management Board, the LPC-MB, chaired by the LPC
Coordinators, to direct the LPC program of work, to draw up policies and to
provide the forum for close coordination with activities in CMS, in U.S. CMS, and
in the CMS Center.
•
The U.S. CMS Collaboration should form an LPC Advisory Board LPC-AB. This
board would provide advice to the LPC Coordinators, give regular feedback on LPC
performance to the LPC-MB and report to the U.S. CMS Collaboration. It should be
set up and charged by the U.S. CMS Collaboration Board.
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The LHC Physics Center
The LHC Physics Center at Fermilab was created so the U.S. CMS community could
provide the most effective service possible to the CMS experiment. Its goal is to ensure
that many collaborators who prefer, or need, to remain mostly in the United States can
contribute optimally to the many tasks required for the CMS experiment to produce
physics, and be full members of the CMS team.
The LPC should be structured to achieve the following main goals, which are
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to facilitate the participation of U.S. physicists in CMS data analysis and scientific
research;
•
to provide services that simplify the lives of all U.S. CMS physicists interested in
participating in CMS, in particular by helping U.S. CMS stay synchronized with
CMS;
•
to help to generate and maintain strong positive relationships between U.S. CMS
and the CMS Collaboration;
•
to provide help for a graceful transition between the currently operating
experiments and CMS for those physicists participating in both, maximizing the
manpower available to each during the transition period.
To address these goals the components of the LPC are:
•
a "brick and mortar" location for CMS physicists to find experts on all aspects of
data analysis, particle ID, software, and event processing within the U.S., working
during hours convenient for U.S.-based physicists;
•
a coordination point that allows physicists easier access to experts residing at sites
throughout the U.S.;
•
a place that encourages, fosters, and helps optimize distributed work and daily
collaboration among groups residing at sites throughout the U.S., and groups
overseas during feasible working hours, through training, guidance and regular use
of software tools for analysis, collaborative tools and other mechanisms;
•
a place for workshops/conferences/gatherings on LHC physics;
•
a place to assist in the training of graduate and postgraduate scientists, as well as a
center that fosters training for students and postdocs working at their home
institutions;
•
a center for the development of software and physics analysis in the U.S.;
•
a place that provides opportunities for U.S. physicists who choose to work this way
to organize their contributions to CMS physics: while organizing CMS physics is
the purview of the CMS physics organization, the LPC could setup an appropriate
and agreed upon structure to assist in this task;
•
a "Remote Operations Center" that CMS physicists can use to participate in data
taking and quality control for the CMS experiment in the U.S.;
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LPC Organization
The LPC is a "virtual and co-operative organization" of U.S. institutions, which is hosted
at Fermilab. The LPC stakeholders include the U.S. CMS institutions, the Fermilab CMS
Center, the U.S. CMS Research Program, CMS management and the CMS physics
organization
Support of the LPC includes voluntary efforts from U.S. institutions, and directed
funding through the U.S. CMS Research Program and the CMS Center. Fermilab
provides office and meeting space, administrative support, computing and meeting
support, and other elements of infrastructure.
LPC Management Board LPC-MB
The committee proposes to form an LPC Management Board, to be a vehicle by which
the LPC Coordinators will direct the LPC program of work, draw up policies and
coordinate with CMS, with the Fermilab CMS Center, with the U.S. CMS Research
Program and with the U.S. CMS Collaboration. It is a forum to discuss matters of
substance and resources concerning the operation of the LPC.
The LPC-MB works to ensure that the stakeholders and providers of efforts and funding
are fully informed. It takes responsibility that decisions are appropriately supported.
The LPC Coordinators chair the LPC-MB and appoint its members. The board meets
regularly and is the main mechanism for the LPC Coordinators to involve the
stakeholders. The LPC-MB is not an "oversight" body, but part of the LPC management
structure, helping to coordinate the effort.
LPC Advisory Board LPC-AB
The committee proposes that U.S. CMS form an Advisory Board for the LPC, to provide
a mechanism for the LPC to get collaboration-wide advice, and to assess LPC status and
plans on a regular basis.
The committee realizes the setup of this board is the purview of the U.S. CMS
Collaboration, and puts the following recommendations forward for consideration:
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It should meet about two times a year and keep good contact with the LPC.
•
It should have members from CMS and eventually external experts.
•
The board should receive reports on all aspects of the LPC and should, once a year,
publicize its findings and recommendations
Members of the previous LPC-AB have successfully guided the LPC over its initial two
years and we recommend that U.S. CMS enlist their help in setting up the new board.
The LPC Coordinators
To lead the LPC effort the committee proposes to continue to have two LPC
Coordinators. Working with the LPC-MB, they will be responsible for setting up the
internal LPC organization in a way that is flexible enough to respond to changes and
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upcoming needs. They should develop the tools for coordinating the LPC efforts within
the U.S. and with CMS.
The committee recommends:
•
One of the two LPC Coordinators should be on the Fermilab staff as part of the
Fermilab line management. The other should spend significant time at Fermilab and
be a member of the US CMS university community.
•
The terms of office should be two years and can be renewed once.
•
For the initial appointments one coordinator will serve a one-year term.
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Thus, the terms are staggered. An LPC Coordinator selection will occur every year.
Selection of LPC Coordinators
The committee recommends the following procedure to appoint LPC Coordinators:
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U.S. CMS forms a selection committee with ex-officio and at-large members.
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Four at-large members are nominated by the U.S. CMS institutions and chosen by
simple (email) voting in the U.S. CMS Collaboration Board.
•
Ex-officio members are the U.S. CMS Collaboration Board Chair, the U.S. CMS
Research Program Manager, the Deputy Research Program Manager, the Fermilab
CMS Center Director, the CMS Spokesperson or delegate and the U.S. CMS
Physics Coordinator.
•
The selection committee solicits nominations from US institutions, encouraging
discussion within the U.S. CMS groups, to get a good and broad list of candidates.
•
The selection committee confirms that candidates are willing to serve if chosen,
interviews candidates, vets candidates with Fermilab management, and creates a
short list.
•
The Fermilab Director appoints an LPC Coordinator from the short list.
Conclusion
The LPC Governance Committee has fulfilled its mandate and reached agreement on the
above set of recommendations, that it has discussed broadly with members of its
constituency, the U.S. CMS Collaboration, CMS, the U.S. CMS Research Program
Management, and Fermilab management. Fermilab host lab management is invited to
consider the proposals and to give additional input as deemed necessary, and to reach a
decision on the future governance of the LPC.
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